In-cabin cup holder

ABSTRACT

An in-cabin cup holder which holds a cup includes an upper holder having a cup opening into which the cup is inserted, and a lower holder placed below the upper holder. The lower holder has a recess with a bottom that is positioned below the cup opening and that supports the inserted cup from below, and a side wall that is provided at a periphery of the recess with the bottom, and that surrounds a space above the recess with the bottom. A discharge port for discharging liquid is formed on the side wall.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.2018-033248 filed on Feb. 27, 2018, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety including the specification, claims, drawings,and abstract.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an in-cabin cup holder which holds acup of a drink or the like.

BACKGROUND

In many cases, a cup holder which holds a cup of a drink or the like isprovided near a console of a vehicle. For example, in JP 2009-126389 A,a cup holder is formed by forming a recess on a shift lever case of theconsole.

In some cases, a cup holder is independently formed, and is assembledonto the console or the like. In this case, if there is employed astructure in which the cup holder is divided into a plurality ofcomponents which are to be assembled together, the size of eachcomponent becomes small, resulting in ease of manufacture. Inparticular, because the cup holder has many hollow portions, anadvantage of dividing into a plurality of components is significant.

When the cup holder is divided into two components, an upper holder anda lower holder, a case may be considered in which liquid falls downwardfrom a gap between the two components. In this case, the liquid may flowon the periphery of the lower holder, and may drop onto a componentbelow, which may result in an adverse effect on the component below. Inparticular, this becomes problematic when an electronic component suchas an ECU is present below the cup holder.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided anin-cabin cup holder which holds a cup, comprising: an upper holderhaving a cup opening into which the cup is inserted; and a lower holderplaced below the upper holder and having a recess with a bottom that ispositioned below the cup opening and that supports the inserted cup frombelow, and a side wall that is placed at a periphery of the recess withthe bottom, and that surrounds a space above the recess with the bottom,wherein a discharge port for discharging liquid is provided on the sidewall.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a pair of guidesthat protrude toward an outer side and that restrict flow of liquid to aside may be provided on left and right sides of the discharge port.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the upper holdermay have two cup openings, the lower holder may have two recesses withthe bottoms, and the side wall may be placed to surround both of therecesses with the bottoms, including a holder bottom surface between thetwo recesses with the bottoms.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, at least one ofthe discharge ports may be provided on the side wall at a side of theholder bottom surface.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, at least one ofthe discharge ports may be provided on the side wall at a side of one ofthe recesses with the bottoms.

According to the present disclosure, because the discharge port isprovided on the side wall of the lower holder, a liquid flow-out portioncan be limited to a particular position, and splashing of the liquidonto the component below can be prevented.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Embodiment(s) of the present disclosure will be described by referenceto the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective diagram showing an overall structureof a cup holder according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram along a cross section II-II (vertical cross sectionin a longitudinal direction) in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram along a cross section (vertical cross section in ashort-side direction) in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram along a cross section IV-IV (lateral cross section)in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a lower holder viewed from a direction V ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a lower holder viewed from a direction VI ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a bottom surface diagram of a lens; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a placement portion of a lens shown by acircle of a dot-and-chain line in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described withreference to the drawings. The present disclosure is not limited to theembodiment described herein.

<Overall Structure>

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective diagram showing an overall structureof an in-cabin cup holder according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. A cup holder 10 can hold two cups. In addition, the cupholder 10 is formed by combining, in an up-and-down direction, an upperholder 14 which is an upper member and a lower holder 16 which is alower member.

The upper holder 14 has ring-shaped portions 18 a and 18 b which formcircumferential surfaces of two cup openings 12 a and 12 b. Each of thering-shaped portions 18 a and 18 b can support an outer side of a cupwhich is inserted. The ring-shaped portions 18 a and 18 b extend in theup-and-down direction in correspondence to the shape of the cup, andhave diameters which becomes smaller in a tapered shape toward a lowerside. In addition, the ring-shaped portions 18 a and 18 b are opened atthe upper and lower sides thereof, and portions where the tworing-shaped portions 18 a and 18 b are positioned near each other arecut out. The cutout portions are connected by a pair of quadrangularconnection side walls 20, to form a connection space 22 which connectsthe two cup openings 12 a and 12 b. Therefore, when viewed from above,circular shapes defined by the two cup openings 12 a and 12 b areconnected by the quadrangular connection space 22.

Further, an upper surface portion 24 which extends from the ring-shapedportions 18 a and 18 b and an upper end of the connection side wall 20towards the sides forms an upper surface of the upper holder 14. A partof the cup opening 12 a of the upper surface portion 24 extends in aslanted upward direction, to form a back surface portion 26. In thisexemplified configuration, the back surface portion 26 is formed at aside of the cup opening 12 a (on a side opposite from the cup opening 12b), and a cup can be guided by the back surface portion 26 into the cupopening 12 a.

The lower holder 16 is positioned below the upper holder 14, and theupper holder 14 is fixed onto an upper end of the lower holder 16. Thefixation may be realized by various means such as engagement of theupper and lower holders 14 and 16. FIG. 2 shows an example configurationwhere the upper holder 14 is fixed to the lower holder 16 by fitting.

The lower holder 16 has two recesses with bottoms 28 a and 28 b,positioned below the ring-shaped portions 18 a and 18 b. The side wall20 which extends upward is provided surrounding a holder bottom surface32 extending at the periphery of the two recesses with the bottoms 28 aand 28 h.

In this manner, the cup holder 10 has the cup openings 12 a and 12 b onthe upper holder 14 and the recesses with the bottoms 28 a and 28 b onthe lower holder 16, and a cup which is inserted can be held by thesestructures.

FIG. 2 shows a cross section II-II (vertical cross section in thelongitudinal direction) in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 shows a cross section III-III(vertical cross section in the short-side direction) in FIG. 1, and FIG.4 shows a cross section IV-IV (lateral cross section) in FIG. 2. Inthese drawings, structures inside the cup openings 12 a and 12 b, andstructures at the side of the cup opening 12 b, or the like are omitted.Further, shapes of the ring-shaped portions 18 a and 18 b and therecesses with the bottoms 28 a and 28 b are simplified and shown as acircular tube.

As shown in FIG. 2, the recesses with the bottoms 28 a and 28 b of thelower holder 16 are positioned below the ring-shaped portions 18 a and18 b of the upper holder 14. On an inner side of the side wall 30extending upward from edges of the recesses with the bottoms 28 a and 28b, the ring-shaped portions 18 a and 18 b of the upper holder 14 arepositioned.

On the side wall 30 positioned above a portion, of the recess with thebottom 28 b, at an opposite side from the recess with the bottom 28 a, adischarge port 38 is provided. The discharge port 38 is a quadrangularopening having a predetermined size, and guides 40 are provided on leftand right sides thereof. The guide 40 is a rib-shaped protrusionextending in the up-and-down direction. By being positioned on bothsides of the discharge port, the guides 40 restrict spread of the liquiddischarged from the discharge port 38 to the sides, and guide the liquiddownward.

Between the two recesses with the bottoms 28 a and 28 b arranged side byside, the holder bottom surface 32 is positioned. The holder bottomsurface 32 has a shape which spreads to the sides from the edges of therecesses with the bottoms 28 a and 28 b. At a center of the holderbottom surface 32 connecting the two recesses with the bottoms 28 a and28 b, an opening 34 is formed, and a lens 36 for emitting light frombelow is placed to cover the opening 34 from above.

As shown in FIG. 3, lower ends of the pair of the connection side walls20 of the upper holder 14 are connected by a bottom portion 22 a whichextends in the horizontal direction above the lens 36. That is, thebottom portion 22 a forms a bottom portion of the connection space 22.At a part of the side wall 30, a quadrangular discharge port 42 isprovided. Therefore, the liquid is discharged also from this portion. Agutter-shaped guide 44 is provided on the side wall 30 at a periphery(respective sides and lower side) at an outer side of the discharge port42. Therefore, the liquid from the discharge port 42 falls from aposition slightly distanced from the side wall 30.

As shown in FIG. 4, the connection space 22 is a region sandwiched bythe recesses with the bottoms 28 a and 28 b, which have a circular shapewhen viewed from above, and has a narrowest width at a center and thewidth is widened toward the respective ends. In the ends on both sidesof the holder bottom surface 32 and at a semicircular portion (edge ofthe lower holder 16) at an outer side in the longitudinal direction ofthe recesses with the bottoms 28 a and 28 b, the side wall 30 whichextends upward is positioned.

The side wall 30 connects the edges of the two recesses with the bottoms28 a and 28 b viewed from above in a direction of tangent, and a lowerend of the side wall 30 is positioned at an end of the holder bottomsurface 32. That is, the side wall 30 collectively surrounds the upperspaces of both of the two recesses with the bottoms 28 a and 28 b. In aregion between the two recesses with the bottoms 28 a and 28 b, andsurrounded by the side wall 30, the holder bottom surface 32 has ahigher height at a central side thereof. Therefore, the edge of theopening 34 positioned at the center is formed by an upper end 32 a ofthe holder bottom surface 32. In FIG. 4, the lens 36 is omitted.

<Structure of Discharge Port>

FIG. 5 shows the lower holder 16 viewed from a direction V of FIG. 4. Asshown, the discharge port 38 is provided on the side wall 30 above theside surface, of the recess with the bottom 28 b, exposed to the outsideat an opposite side of the recess with the bottom 28 a. The dischargeport 38 is a quadrangular opening, and the guide 40 is provided on leftand right sides of an outer surface of the side wall 30. The guide 40 isa protrusion extending in the up-and-down direction, and by the guide 40being positioned on both sides of the discharge port, the liquiddischarged from the discharge port is not spread and is guided downward.

FIG. 6 shows the lower holder 16 viewed from a direction VI of FIG. 3.As shown, the quadrangular discharge port 42 is provided on the sidewall 30 at the side of the holder bottom surface 32. At a periphery ofthe side wall 30 around the discharge port 42 (respective sides andlower side), the gutter-shaped guide 44 is provided. Therefore, theliquid from the discharge port 42 falls from a position slightlydistanced from the side wall 30.

In this manner, in the cup holder 10 of the present embodiment, thedischarge ports 38 and 42 are formed at predetermined locations of thelower holder 16, and the guides 40 and 44 are formed therein. Therefore,when liquid is splashed onto the cup holder 10 or the liquid exits thecup, the discharge location of the liquid can be limited. Thus, evenwhen an electronic component or the like is placed below the cup holder,splashing of the liquid can be prevented.

<Structure of Lens>

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, over the opening 34 of the holder bottomsurface 32, the lens 36 is placed as a lid which is slightly larger thanthe opening 34. Below the lens 36, a light source such as an LED isplaced, and light from the light source is emitted upward through thelens 36. Above the lens 36, the bottom portion 22 a of the connectionspace 22 of the upper holder 14 is positioned, and the light from thelens 36 is reflected by the bottom portion, and is emitted to the side.

FIG. 7 is a bottom surface diagram of the lens 36, and FIG. 8 is anenlarged view of a placement portion of the lens shown by a circle of adot-and-chain line of FIG. 2.

As shown, the lens 36 has a planar shape in which the center is narrowand a width is widened toward the sides in the short-side direction. Onthe peripheral portion of a lower surface of the lens 36, a rib-shapedprotrusion 52 is provided, and a rib-shaped protrusion 54 is providedinside of the rib-shaped protrusion 52 with a predetermined gaptherebetween. Both of the two protrusions 52 and 54 are placed tosurround the entire circumference of the lens 36 at the lower side ofthe lens 36, and the gap therebetween is a channel 56. On the otherhand, the upper end 32 a of the holder bottom surface 32 forming theedge of the opening 34 protrudes upward, and is fitted to the channel56.

In this manner, in the present embodiment, the recess 52 is provided onthe lower surface of the lens 36. Therefore, when liquid splashes fromthe periphery of the lens 36 toward the lens 36, intrusion of the liquidinto the inside can be prevented by the protrusion 52. Specifically,momentum of the liquid in the lateral direction is eliminated by theprotrusion 52, and the liquid drops downward. With this configuration,it is possible to prevent intrusion of the liquid from a region betweenthe lens 36 and the holder bottom surface 32 and fall of the liquidbelow the lens 36.

Further, the upper end 32 a of the holder bottom surface 32 issandwiched by the two protrusions 52 and 54, and thus, the opening 34can be reliably covered with the lens 36 as the lid. In addition, byhaving the uneven structure on the bottom surface of the lens 36, whenthe lens 36 is fixed to the periphery of the opening by adhesion or thelike, the airtightness can be improved, and dropping of liquid or thelike to the lower side in this region can be reliably prevented.

<Others>

In the cup holder 10 according to the embodiment described above, twocup openings 12 a and 12 b, and two recesses with the bottoms 28 a and28 b are provided so that two cups can be held. Alternatively, only onecup opening and one recess with the bottom may be provided so that onlyone cup may be held. In this case, only the discharge port 38 may beprovided, or the opening 34 and the lens 36 may be provided on theholder bottom surface 32 around the recess with the bottom, and thedischarge port 42 may be provided on the side wall 30 thereof.Alternatively, a configuration may be employed in which only one of thedischarge ports 38 and 42 is provided.

1. An in-cabin cup holder which holds a cup, comprising: an upper holderhaving a cup opening into which the cup is inserted; and a lower holderplaced below the upper holder and having a recess with a bottom that ispositioned below the cup opening and that supports the inserted cup frombelow, and a side wall that is placed at a periphery of the recess withthe bottom, and that surrounds a space above the recess with the bottom,wherein a discharge port for discharging liquid is provided on the sidewall.
 2. The in-cabin cup holder according to claim 1, wherein a pair ofguides that protrude toward an outer side and that restrict flow ofliquid to a side is provided on left and right sides of the dischargeport.
 3. The in-cabin cup holder according to claim 1, wherein the upperholder has two cup openings, the lower holder has two recesses with thebottoms, and the side wall is placed to surround both of the recesseswith the bottoms, including a holder bottom surface between the tworecesses with the bottoms.
 4. The in-cabin cup holder according to claim3, wherein at least one of the discharge ports is provided on the sidewall at a side of the holder bottom surface.
 5. The in-cabin cup holderaccording to claim 3, wherein at least one of the discharge ports isprovided on the side wall at a side of one of the recesses with thebottoms.